Food presentation methods

ABSTRACT

Trays for food are disclosed. A tray includes a plurality of receptacles, or compartments, for different courses of a meal (e.g., the entrée, a vegetable, a fruit, a starch, a dessert, a drink, etc.). Compartments for relatively unhealthful items may be configured to make the portion sizes of those items appear to be larger than they are, while compartments for healthful items may be configured to make the portion sizes of those items appear to be smaller than they are. The tray may also be configured to ensure that healthful items are positioned closest to an individual who is eating from the tray. Methods for presenting food to an individual are also disclosed.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.14/863,429, filed on Sep. 23, 2015, titled FOOD PRESENTATION METHODS,now U.S. Pat. No. 9,949,584, issued on Apr. 24, 2018. The entiredisclosure of the foregoing patent application is hereby incorporatedherein.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This disclosure relates generally to trays for food and, morespecifically, to trays that include a plurality of receptacles, orcompartments, for different courses of a meal (e.g., the entrée, avegetable, a fruit, a starch, a dessert, a drink, etc.). Even morespecifically, this disclosure relates to food trays that are configuredto enable the development of better eating habits and to encourageindividuals to consume greater amounts of foods that are nutritiousand/or healthful than foods that are less nutritious and/or unhealthful.

BACKGROUND OF RELATED ART

Over 30 million children eat a government-subsidized lunch every day inthe United States. Some children complain about portion sizes, but stillwaste food. Other children complain about the type and/or quality of thefood and skip lunch altogether. Roughly half of these lunches are servedoff of reusable trays and half are served off of disposable polystyrenefoam trays or paper trays.

The food that school cafeterias serve to school children is oftenheavily skewed toward too many starchy and sweet dishes, and not enoughvegetables or fruits. Moreover, soft drinks, which substantially addcalories to a child's diet while not providing little nutrition, areoften consumed in favor of healthier beverages, like milk.

Childhood obesity has doubled since the early 1980s, and some haveattributed this problem, in part, to the content of school lunches.About 75% of school aged children eat lunch provided by the cafeteria attheir school. A typical school lunch accounts for a third of a student'sdaily caloric intake. Lunches provided by school cafeterias areestimated to add substantially more calories to a student's diet thanlunches brought to school from home (e.g., bagged lunches, etc.). Overtime, the accumulation of unhealthful eating choices, including thoseoffered by typical school cafeteria lunches, could easily contribute toweight gain and obesity in children.

Although school lunch programs have substantial control over manyaspects of their operations, including lunch content, choice mechanism,portion size, eating environment, price, payment, and extent of parentalcontrol, school lunch programs have primarily focused concerns on thecontent of lunches, rather than focusing on factors that may helpchildren develop healthier eating habits.

Although the focus of the foregoing description is on school children,similar problems arise in any cafeteria setting for consumers of anyage, including adults.

SUMMARY

A tray according to this disclosure is configured to present food in amanner that helps individuals eat healthfully. The configuration of thetray may provide a food server with guidance on appropriate presentationof various courses of a meal, as well as the portions, or serving sizes,that are to be provided to the individual who will consume the food.Additionally, the tray may present the food in a manner that makeshealthier courses more enticing to the individual who consumes the food,and in a way that balances the individuals' expectations on portionsizes (e.g., larger portions of tasty foods, smaller portions of lesstasty, but more healthful foods, etc.), with portion sizes that actuallycorrespond to a healthy diet.

In one aspect, this disclosure relates to the tray itself, which mayalso be referred to herein as a “food tray” and as a “food trayapparatus.” A tray according to this disclosure may be configured topresent healthy courses of a meal (e.g., a vegetable, a fruit, etc.) atlocations that are closest to an individual as he or she consumes themeal, while presenting less healthy courses (e.g., a dessert, a starch,etc.) at locations that are further away from the individual. In thisregard, the tray may include compartments, or receptacles, for healthycourses adjacent to its front edge (e.g., at the side or sides of acompartment for an entrée, etc.), while compartments for less healthycourses are located towards the back edge of the tray.

In some embodiments, a tray may include one or more features that willencourage an individual to orient the tray in such a way that healthiercourses are positioned closest to the individual. As an example, a traymay include a long, relatively deep compartment for napkins, utensils(or “eating ware”) or the like adjacent to its rear edge. If such acompartment were positioned closest to an individual, it could impedethe individual's access to other food-containing compartments of thetray. As such, the long, deep compartment may encourage an individual toorient the front and rear edges of the tray in their intendedorientations (i.e., respectively, toward and away from the individual).

Other characteristics of the tray may also draw an individual'sattention to compartments that hold healthier courses of a meal. Somenon-limiting examples of such characteristics include the color of thetray, the use of images or other indicia at selected locations on thetray (e.g., adjacent to the openings of compartments that are intendedto hold healthy courses, etc.) and other characteristics.

The compartments of a tray may have volumes that correspond toappropriate portion sizes for their respective courses of a meal. Forexample, compartments that are intended to hold healthy courses may haverelatively large volumes, while compartments that are intended to holdless healthy courses may have relatively small volumes. The area of anopening of each compartment may correspond to an individual'sexpectations regarding portion sizes. In some embodiments, the area ofthe opening may suggest that the compartment has a larger volume thanthe compartment actually has. A compartment with a relatively smallvolume but an opening that is suggestive of a larger volume may beintended to hold an entrée or another course (e.g., a dessert, a starch,etc.) that may have a pleasing taste, but that might not be veryhealthy. Conversely, the area of an opening of a compartment of a traymay suggest to the individual that the compartment has a relativelysmall volume, while the actual volume of the compartment is larger thanits opening would suggest. Such a compartment may be useful for holdinga course that may not be particularly desirable to an individual (e.g.,not flavorful, etc.), but would be healthy for the individual toconsume. The shape of the opening of each compartment may provide anindividual with similar cues as to compartment size (e.g., a compartmentwith a round opening may appear to have a small volume even though itdoes not, a compartment with a rectangular opening may appear to have alarge volume even though it does not, etc.).

A tray according to this disclosure may include a compartment that isconfigured to hold a drink, but not other items of food. Such acompartment may include a base that will support a container for adrink, as well as a hole that may prevent the compartment from holdingother items of food. In a specific embodiment, such a compartment mayhave a shape (e.g., rectangular, square, etc.) and dimensions that aresuitable for receiving a single serving carton of milk, with a holelarge enough to prevent the compartment from holding a can of anunhealthy beverage (e.g., a soft drink, an energy drink, etc.).

A tray according to this disclosure may be stackable with identicaltrays. In some embodiments, a shape and dimensions of the tray mayenable it to be densely arranged with like trays in a dishwasher.

In another aspect, methods for presenting food to individuals who willconsume the food are disclosed. In such a method, the food may bepresented in a manner that position healthy courses (e.g., a vegetable,a fruit, etc.) at one or more locations closest to and, thus, readilyaccessible by an individual who will consume the food. Less healthfulcourses (e.g., desserts, starches, etc.) may be presented to theindividual at locations that are further away from the individual and,thus, less accessible to the individual.

Food that is desirable to the individual (e.g., flavorful food, etc.),but may not be particularly healthful, may be presented in a manner thatprovides the appearance of a large portion size, but with an actualvolume that corresponds to a more appropriate (i.e., smaller) portionsize. Food that might be less desirable to the individual, but ishealthful for the individual, may be presented in a manner that providesthe appearance of a small portion size, but with an actual volume thatcorresponds to a more appropriate (i.e., larger) portion size.

Healthful courses of a meal may also be presented in a manner thatimproves their desirability, as perceived by an individual. As anexample, a healthful course of vegetables may be presented on a tray (ora surrounding portion of a tray) that is yellow, gold, or red in color,which may improve the perceived vibrancy of the color(s) of thevegetables.

Other aspects, as well as features and advantages of various aspects, ofthe disclosed subject matter will become apparent to those of ordinaryskill in the art through consideration of the ensuing description, theaccompanying drawings and the appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a top view of an embodiment of a tray for food according tothis disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a front side, or edge, view of the embodiment of tray shown inFIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the tray shown in FIG. 1, from alocation behind a rear edge of the tray; and

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the features, perceptions, and results of anembodiment of a tray according to this disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

A survey shows that school children want to eat food that is fun or“cool,” and like to eat bigger portions of food that tastes good thanfood that is healthy for them. At the same time, it is important to finda way for consumers to reduce portions of high calorie foods that arestarchy and sweet, while increasing serving sizes for vegetables andfruit. With the foregoing in mind, this disclosure relates to a traythat makes starchy entrées and sweet desserts look large and satisfying(at the same time being smaller than they appear), and vegetables andfruit appear to be smaller than they really are, while keeping thevegetables hot and the fruit cold.

Using principles of behavioral science, the tray of this disclosure wasdesigned with several objectives. First, the tray displays the mainentrée, which is usually starchy and typically has the most calories ofall of the courses of a meal, so that it appears to be larger than itis. In addition, the tray is designed to make desserts appear to be lessimportant but larger than they are, which may further reduce the servingsize of a dessert, as well as the total calories of the meal. The traymay achieve these objectives by including one or more compartments thatoccupy a relatively large area of the tray while having a relativelyshallow depths and, in some embodiments, shallowly beveled edges toreduce the overall volume and capacity of such compartments.

Additionally, a compartment for a dessert or a starchy food may have aconfiguration that is similar to, but smaller than, the configuration ofthe compartment for the entrée so the dessert or starch appears to besubstantially larger than it actually is. In some embodiments, acompartment for a dessert or a starch may be placed towards the back ofthe tray so that the dessert appears to be less important than the otherfoods or courses of a meal.

Furthermore, a tray may have a configuration, or design, that tends tomake servings of vegetables and fruit appear to be smaller than theyactually are, thus encouraging individuals to take more vegetables andfruit on the tray. The compartment(s) for vegetables and/or fruit may bedeeper than the entrée and/or dessert compartments, enabling largerservings of vegetables and fruit. In some embodiments, the tray may beconfigured to receive a full cup of vegetables or fruit without therequirement of a separate bowl or cup.

The positioning of each compartment for vegetables and/or fruit mayencourage an individual to consume these healthful types of food. Forexample, vegetable and/or fruit compartments may be positioned near thefront edge of the tray, adjacent to the compartment for the entrée. Thisdesign may make the vegetables and/or fruit appear to be as central andimportant to a meal as the entrée. In some embodiments, a tray mayinclude two compartments for vegetables and/or fruit, which may flankthe compartment for an entrée. Such an arrangement may prevent anindividual from having to choose between fruits and vegetables.

A tray according to this disclosure may have a color and/or include oneor more icons that may be indicative of the intended contents of one ormore corresponding compartments of the tray (e.g., vegetables and/orfruits, etc.) and/or that may encourage an individual to consume themore healthful courses of a meal, such as vegetables and/or fruits. Suchan icon may be positioned within an container (on its bottom or one ormore sides) and/or on a surface of the tray, adjacent to an opening ofthe container. In specific embodiments, a tray may be yellow, gold orred in color. Such colors are known to complement the appearance of manyvegetables and fruits. In addition, such bright colors may enhance theappearance of the food and make it appear to be more fun. Translucenceof the tray may also be used to enhance this effect. In someembodiments, various types of icons may be displayed in and around thevegetable and fruit compartments to encourage eating these foods. In aspecific embodiment, one or more icons may provide a depiction ofvegetables and/or fruits or a reminder that an individual should eat hisor her vegetables and/or fruits.

The tray may also include a compartment with a shape that encourages anindividual to consume a healthful beverage; for example, the tray mayinclude a compartment that will receive a single serving carton of milk,but not other beverage containers. The compartment for a beverage may beshaped as a rectangle or a square so as to accommodate the rectangularor square shape of the base of a milk carton. In contrast, round cans orbottles of other beverages, such as soft drink cans, energy drink cansand the like, would fit awkwardly in such a compartment. In someembodiments, a compartment for a beverage may include an opening throughwhich a can or bottle with a round base could fall.

A tray according to this disclosure may be designed in a manner thatreduces energy costs associated with cleaning a plurality of the trays.

Furthermore, most standard reusable food trays fit singly in a slot inan automatic dishwasher. The food trays of the current invention isreshaped to be longer and thinner than conventional trays so that twotrays can be vertically stacked side by side and washed in one slot ofthe dishwasher instead of two slots. This new design saves in energycosts in cleaning the trays.

Referring to FIG. 1, an embodiment of a tray 10 according to thisdisclosure is shown in an overhead view. The tray 10 has a front edge 20and a rear edge 22. The tray 10 is shown having several compartments 12,30, 40, 50, 60, 80, etc., for food (e.g., various courses of a meal,etc.). The tray 10 may, in a very specific embodiment, be rectangular inshape and have dimensions of 9 inches by 14¾ inches.

A first compartment 12 of the tray may comprise a compartment for a mainentrée (not shown). The first compartment 12 may be substantiallyrectangular in shape (e.g. rectangular with rounded edges, a roughlyrectangular shape with curvilinear sides, etc.) with a longer dimensionrunning perpendicular to the front edge 20 and the rear edge 22 (i.e.,in a vertical direction) and a shorter dimension running parallel to thefront edge 20 and the rear edge 22 (i.e., in a horizontal direction),thus leaving more room for a second compartment 30 and a thirdcompartment 40 (e.g., compartments for vegetables and fruit, etc.)adjacent to, or near, the front edge 20 of the tray 10.

The sides 14, 15, 16 and 17 of the first compartment 12 may be shallowlybeveled, as shown, to cut down on the size of the entrée whilemaintaining its large appearance. The first compartment 12 is shown asbeing positioned near the front edge 20 of the tray 10. In a veryspecific embodiment, the first compartment 12 may have an opening with awidth of 4¼ inches that extends 6 inches from front to back. The beveledsides 14-17 may impart a base of the first compartment 12 with a bottom18 that has a width of 2 11/16 inches and that extends 4 29/64 inchesfrom front to back.

On the left side of the tray 10, near the front edge 20 and adjacent tothe left side of the first compartment 12, is a second compartment 30that may be used for containing a side dish, such as a fruit or anotherhealthful side dish. As illustrated, an opening of the secondcompartment 30 may be circular in shape, and the second compartment 30may have a cylindrical shape or a frustoconical shape. In a veryspecific embodiment, an opening at the top 32 of the second compartment30 may have a diameter of 3½ inches, while a bottom 34 of the secondcompartment may have a diameter of 3 inches.

Another, third compartment 40 may be positioned adjacent to the frontedge 20 of the tray 10 on the right side of the first compartment 12.The third compartment 40 may also be configured to receive a side dish(e.g., a healthful side dish, etc.). The third compartment 40 may beslightly larger and deeper than the second compartment 30 and, in someembodiments, may be configured to receive a full cup of vegetables. Adepth of the third compartment 40 may help maintain a hot temperature ofcooked vegetables. In a very specific embodiment, the third compartment40 may have a diameter of 4½ inches at its top 42, narrowing downslightly to 4 inches at its bottom 44.

A smaller, fourth compartment 50 may be positioned in a less significantposition on the tray 10, behind the second compartment 30. The fourthcompartment 50 may be configured to receive a less healthy food, such asa starchy food or a dessert. The fourth compartment 50 may include sidewalls 52, 53, 54 and 55 that are shallowly beveled in such a way that anopening at a top 56 of the fourth compartment 50 imparts the fourthcompartment 50 with the appearance of having a larger volume than itactually does. In a very specific embodiment, the dimensions at the top56 of the fourth compartment may be 2 inches by 3½ inches, whereas thecorresponding dimensions at the bottom 58 of the fourth compartment 50may be 1 inch by 2½ inches. The fourth compartment 50 may have a depththat is as shallow as or shallower than the depth of the firstcompartment 12 so that the contents of the fourth compartment 50 appearto have a larger portion size than they actually have.

At a location adjacent to the rear edge 22 and, optionally, at a rearcorner, the tray 10 may include a fifth compartment 60 that may beconfigured to accommodate a beverage. The fifth compartment 60 may berectangular in shape and, in some embodiments, may be designed toreceive the base of a small milk carton (not shown). In a very specificembodiment, a top 66 of the fifth compartment 60 may have dimensions of2¾ inches by 2¾ inches. The sides 62, 63, 64 and 65 of the fifthcompartment 60 may be beveled to slightly narrow down the bottom 68 ofthe fifth compartment 60 to dimensions of 3 inches by 3 inches. In someembodiments, the fifth compartment 60 may include a cut-out portion, oran opening 70. The opening 70 may be configured (e.g., as a circle, asillustrated by FIG. 1) to discourage the placement of food or cans orbottles with circular bases in the fifth compartment 60.

Running along the rear edge 22 of the tray 10 is a sixth compartment 80,which may be elongated. The sixth compartment 80 may be configured toreceive a napkin and/or utensils. The sixth compartment 80 may havebeveled sides 82, 83, 84 and 85. In a very specific embodiment, thebeveled sides 82-85 of the sixth compartment 80 may narrow the sixthcompartment 80 down from dimensions of 1¾ inches by 9¾ inches at its top86 to dimensions of 1 inch by 9¼ inches at its bottom 88.

Looking now at FIG. 2, a profile view of the tray 10 is shown from thefront edge 20 (FIG. 1) of the tray 10. As shown, the second compartment30 and the third compartment 40 may have depths that are considerablygreater than the depths of the first compartment 12, the fourthcompartment 50 (FIG. 1) and, optionally, the sixth compartment 80. In avery specific embodiment of the tray 10, the second compartment 30 andthe third compartment 40 may have depths of 1½ inches. In contrast, thedepths of the first compartment 12 and the fourth compartment 50 of suchan embodiment may only be ½ inch or less.

Referring now to FIG. 3, a perspective view from the rear edge 22 of thetray 10 is shown. The dimensions of the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and2 are maintained in the view provided by FIG. 3. Viewing the tray 10form this backward orientation, the placement of the sixth compartment80 tends to block access to the first compartment 12 (which may beintended for an entrée), as well as the second compartment 30 (which maybe intended for fruit) and the third compartment 40 (which may beintended for a vegetable), causing the individual to turn the tray 10around to the more desired position with the front edge 20 closest tothe individual, as shown in FIG. 1.

Referring now to FIG. 4, a diagram 100 is shown that highlights theadvantages of various embodiments of a tray 10 (FIGS. 1-3) according tothis disclosure. On the left side 110 of the diagram 100 are displayedthe main features of the tray 10. In the center 120 of the diagram 100are three arrows that indicate the perceptions that an individual, sucha school child, might have as a result of the features of the tray 10shown on the left side 110 of the diagram 100. On the right side 130 ofthe diagram 100 are four blocks that give the results that may come fromthe perceptions identified in the center 110 of the diagram 100.

Reviewing FIG. 4 in more detail, one feature 111 on the left side 110 ofthe diagram 100 shows that the smaller, shallower beveled first andfourth compartments 12 and 50 (FIG. 1) of the tray 10 (FIG. 1) areintended for an entrée and a dessert, respectively. The resultingperception 121 in the center 120 of the diagram 100 is that thesecompartments hold greater quantities of the entrée and the dessert thanthey actually hold.

Another feature 112 is that there are reminder cues for fruits andvegetables by placing the containers for fruits and vegetables incontainers near the front of the tray 10 (e.g., the second container 20and the third container 30 shown in FIG. 1) and possibly using icons tohighlight these foods. The perception 122 at the center 120 of thediagram 100 indicates that it is normal and correct to place thecompartments for fruits and vegetables in positions that are equallyprominent with the compartment (e.g., the first container 12 shown inFIG. 1) that holds the entrée. The feature 113 that a milk containerfits best in the beverage container (e.g., the fifth container shown inFIG. 1) gives a similar impression 122 that milk is the typical orcorrect choice for a beverage.

The feature 114 that the vegetable compartment is deeper and containsmore vegetables and is more likely to keep them warm gives a perception123 of better quality of the food. The feature 115 of coloring a tray inyellow, gold or red to stimulate the appetite may also give a perception123 of better quality of food.

Looking at the results column at the right side 130 of the diagram 100,the three perceptions 121, 122 and 123 may achieve a result 131 that anindividual feels full and satisfied. In addition, these perceptions mayresult 132 in an individual consuming more and wasting less of a meal.Another possible result 133 is that the food tastes good and was a gooddeal for the individual. Another possible result 134 is that theindividual is likely to select and consume more fruits and vegetablesthan he or she would have if the food was provided to the individual ona conventional tray.

A further result not shown in FIG. 4 is that a thinner tray 10 (FIG. 1)may enable two trays to fit in one slot in a dish washer, thus enablingmore trays to be cleaned at the same time, thereby saving on energycosts associated with cleaning the trays 10.

Although the foregoing description contains many specifics, these shouldnot be construed as limiting the scopes of the inventions recited by anyof the appended claims, but merely as providing information pertinent tosome specific embodiments that may fall within the scopes of theappended claims. Features from different embodiments may be employed incombination. In addition, other embodiments may also lie within thescopes of the appended claims. All additions to, deletions from, andmodifications of the disclosed subject matter that fall within thescopes of the claims are to be embraced by the claims.

What is claimed:
 1. A food tray, comprising: at least one food receptacle; and a beverage receptacle shaped to receive and support a beverage container having a rectangular bottom, the beverage receptacle having an opening therein to prevent placement of food into the beverage receptacle.
 2. The food tray of claim 1, wherein the opening in the beverage receptacle is shaped to prevent the beverage receptacle from supporting a cylindrical beverage in an upright orientation.
 3. The food tray of claim 1, wherein the at least one food receptacle is disposed near a front of the tray.
 4. The food tray of claim 4, wherein the beverage receptacle is located near a back of the tray.
 5. The food tray of claim 1, further comprising: at least one side dish receptacle.
 6. The food tray of claim 6, wherein the at least one side dish receptacle is located adjacent to the entrée receptacle.
 7. The food tray of claim 1, further comprising: a utensil receptacle disposed between the at least one food receptacle and a back of the tray.
 8. The food tray of claim 7, wherein the utensil receptacle is located between each food and/or dessert receptacle of the tray and the back of the tray.
 9. A food tray, comprising: a first receptacle capable of receiving a first serving of food, the first receptacle located near a front of the tray, the first receptacle having a first surface area, a first depth, and a first volume; and a second receptacle capable of receiving a second serving of food, the second receptacle located near the front of the tray, the second receptacle having a second surface area, a second depth, and a second volume, the second surface area being smaller than the first surface area to provide the first serving of food with an apparent volume that is larger than an apparent volume of the second serving of food, the second depth being larger than the first depth.
 10. The food tray of claim 9, further comprising: a utensil receptacle disposed near the back of the tray, the utensil receptacle configured to accommodate eating utensils rather than food.
 11. The food tray of claim 9, wherein the first receptacle has a rectangular shape and the second receptacle has a circular shape.
 12. The food tray of claim 9, wherein an edge of the first receptacle is beveled to minimize the first volume.
 13. The food tray of claim 9, further comprising: a third receptacle located near the front of the tray, the third receptacle having a third surface area, a third depth, and a third volume, the third surface area being smaller than the first surface area of the first receptacle, the third depth being greater than the first depth of the first receptacle, the third volume being greater than the first volume of the first receptacle.
 14. The food tray of claim 13, wherein the third receptacle is located near the front of the tray.
 15. The food tray of claim 13, wherein the first receptacle is positioned between the second receptacle and the third receptacle.
 16. The food tray of claim 13, further comprising: a dessert receptacle located at least partially behind at least one of the first receptacle, the second receptacle, and the third receptacle.
 17. The food tray of claim 16, wherein the dessert receptacle has a fourth depth, the fourth depth being less than the second depth and the third depth.
 18. The food tray of claim 9, wherein the tray is at least partially yellow, gold and/or red in color.
 19. The food tray of claim 9, wherein the tray is at least partially translucent.
 20. A food tray, comprising: a first receptacle capable of receiving a first serving of food, the first receptacle located near a front of the tray, the first receptacle having a first surface area, a first depth, and a first volume; and a second receptacle capable of receiving a second serving of food, the second receptacle located near the front of the tray adjacent to the first receptacle, the second receptacle having a second surface area, a second depth, and a second volume, a third receptacle capable of receiving a third serving of food, the third receptacle located near a front of the tray adjacent to the first receptacle, on an opposite side of the first receptacle from the second receptacle, the third receptacle having a third surface area, a third depth, and a third volume; a dessert receptacle capable of receiving a serving of a dessert, the dessert receptacle located at least partially behind at least one of the second receptacle and the third receptacle, the dessert receptacle having a fourth surface area, a fourth depth, and a fourth volume; a utensil receptacle disposed near the back of the tray, behind the dessert receptacle, the first receptacle, and at least one of the second receptacle and the third receptacle, the utensil receptacle configured to accommodate eating utensils rather than food, the first surface area being greater than the second surface area and the third surface area, the second depth and the third depth being greater than the first depth and the fourth depth. 